Post election violence continues in Jaffna islets

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 April 2004, 16:15 GMT]Violence is on the increase in the islets of Jaffna district after the general election held on April 2. Several people were injured in clashes that took place on the Tamil-Sinhala New Year Day (April 13) at Thambatti area in Kayts between members of public and the paramilitary Eelam People's Democratic party (EPDP), police said

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) sources in Jaffna said that Tuesday afternoon a group of EPDP members had attacked LTTE political activists, Mounan and Eelamaran, when they were travelling through Thambatti area. EPDP members and some police personnel had attacked another LTTE political activist, Thooyavan, inside the police station when he went to complain about the earlier attack on his fellow political activists, LTTE sources said.

Meanwhile several members of the public gathered in front of the police station are reported to have attacked the EPDP members who earlier assaulted the LTTE political activists. Police said in that attack four EPDP members were injured.

LTTE’s Jaffna district political division has made complaints to the Jaffna regional offices of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission and the Sri Lanka Human Rights Commission about the increase of violence against the LTTE political activists in recent times.

LTTE sources in Jaffna alleged that the members of the EPDP and Sri Lankan Police are jointly intimidating the LTTE political activists.

Mr. N.Sri Kantha, leader of the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization (TELO), has also complained to the authorities concerned that the supporters of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) are being intimidated since the April 2 polls, sources said.